Unopposed Genocide: The Yanomami’s Fight for Survival

Abstract

Indigenous cultures across the globe are threatened by the unchecked spread of modernization and Westernization. The Yanomami tribe of Brazil in particular is under attack as they strive to protect their ancestral home in the Amazon Rainforest from cattle ranchers. The fate of the Yanomami’s survival is directly tied to this land. I explore the nature of this symbiotic relationship and the resulting destruction when one of them is harmed. The Yanomami require outside assistance for their culture and their land to be sustained; however, obtaining this help has proved to be incredibly challenging. In the past, the Yanomami have been unfaithfully portrayed as a barbaric and ruthless people which causes potential benefactors to hesitate. I argue that it is the responsibility of the Brazilian government to intercede on behalf of these people are their land.